CY Leung understands the city's property market better than any of his predecessors, but taking on reform will risk the ire of Hong Kong's powerful developers.

Leung Chun-ying, Hong Kong’s chief executive in waiting, has the industry knowledge and political will to address the city’s high housing prices, according to Citic Securities.

“Making house prices more affordable to middle- to low-income families is likely to be high on his agenda, as there is too much complaint about prices in Hong Kong now,” said Adrian Ngan, a property analyst at Citic.